Apparatus for winding wire onto a bobbin

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to apparatus for winding wire onto a bobbin and, more particularly but not exclusively, is concerned with apparatus for winding wire onto a bobbin at speeds in excess of 20 m/sec. The apparatus includes a hinged door which, when open, will provide passage to a bobbin and will rotatably support the bobbin shaft when closed.

D United States Patent 11 1 1111 3, 1

Kernel Nov. 11, 1975 [5 APPARATUS FOR WINDING WIRE ONTO A 2.202.5635/1940 Mikaelson .1 242/701 BOBBIN 2,243,480 5/1941 Mcllvried et a1242/25 R 3317.158 5/1967 OBrien 242/781 Inventor: Noel Kernel,Hurelbeke, Belgium 3.537.665 11/1970 Shumaker 242/7211 [73] Assignee: N.V. Bekaert S.A., Zwevegem,

Belgium Prunury E.\71mmerStanley N. Gllreath Attorney, Agent, orFirn1Shlesinger, Arkwright, Filed: June 1974 Garvey & Dinsmore [21]Appl. No.: 482,872

[57] ABSTRACT 52 US. Cl. 242/25 R; 242/78.1 This invention relates toapparatus for winding wire 1511 Int. c1.- .1 B65H 54/00 Onto bobbin and,more Particularly but not exclu- [5 Field f Seal-chm. 242 25 R, 25 A, 1R, 3 sively, is concerned with apparatus for winding wire 242/41 671 687g 7 1295 onto a bobbin at speeds in excess of 20 m/sec. The apparatusincludes a hinged door which, when open will 5 References Cited providepassage to a bobbin and will rotatably support UNITED STATES PATENTS thebobbin shaft when closed.

1.964530 6/1934 Newton et al .1 242/25 R 9 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures US.Patent Nov. 11, 1975 Sheet 1 of3 3,918,650

FIG.1

US. Patent Nov. 11, 1975 SheetZ 013 3,918,650

U.S. Patent Nov. 11,1975 Sheet3of3 3,918,650

Fig.4

APPARATUS FOR WINDING WIRE ONTO A BOBBIN BACKGROUND AND OBJECTS Theoutput of machinery to draw wire and wind it onto a bobbin is currentlylimited by the speed at which the wire can be wound onto the bobbin. Inparticular. copper can be drawn at speeds of the order of 50 m/see. andit becomes difficult for the winding apparatus to follow at the samespeed because of the unbalance and the resulting centrifugal forcesdeveloped by the bobbin. Such bobbin may be well balanced when empty,but most of the unbalance will be created by the wire according to themanner in which it is wound on the bobbin. there being no guarantee thatit will be wound in a prefectly balanced fashion.

Moreover. higher winding speeds are less efficient on production ratewhen they must be stopped frequently for replacing the full bobbins andfor this reason it is desired to wind up the wire on large bobbins. Withgreater dimensions, however, the problems of unbalance and vibrationincrease accordingly. For such high speed and weight, it becomesnecessary for safety to surround the bobbin by a protecting part of thefixed frame. In these conditions the bobbin becomes difficult to handlein and out the apparatus: no longer by hand because of its weight,within an atleast partly surrounding frame part for reasons of safety,and firmly fixed in the apparatus because of possible unbalances. Insuch a way. the desire of high speed and high bobbin dimensionssignifies a contradiction with respect to ease of handling.

The invention aims at a design where handling in and out of heavybobbins of 100 kg and more can become easy in a winding apparatusdesigned for high speeds, of a least m/sec. and preferably of the orderof 50 m/sec. and more, and capable of carrying unbal' ance forces of1.000 kg and more. i

There are some known designs which are good for handling the bobbins,but less good for operating at high speeds. There is firstly the type ofwinding apparatus with a shaft of which one end is rotatably fixed in abearing, and the otherend is left free and where the bobbin can easilybe mounted and demounted by pass ing the core of the bobbin over theshaft. With'such design the unbalances and tension of the wire can causelarge bending moments in the shaft and especially in the bearing. whichmakes it less unable for high speed and bobbin weight. There is also thetype of winding apparatus wherein the bobbin is clamped between tworotatable centres which must accurately fit in an opening in the precisecentral point of the flanges on either side of the bobbin. These bobbinsare however not made of high quality steel, and the openings for thecentres are subject to damage by ill treatment and may not fit with thecentres in an accurate way over along period of time to thereby avoidunbalance.

An old wire drawing machine is known (British Patent No. 353.326) havinga drawing capstan adapted for heavy wire coils, in which a verticalshaft has the lower end rotatably mounted in a bearing, and where thewire coil can be taken off via the upper end, but where, duringoperation. this end is held by a pivotally removable arm. Thisparticular design is not very suitable for easy handling of the coilsnor from a point of view of safety, because the protecting guard bellrotates together with the drawing capstan.

The'apparatus according to the invention for winding wire onto a bobbinhaving .acylindrical hollow core comprises:

a. a fixed frame defining a chamber for said bobbin, said chamber beingfor its greatest part surrounded by said frame;

b. a door pivotally mounted in said fixed frame.

adapted to give passage to the bobbin into said chamber when open, andto be closed in vertical position;

c. a substantially horizontal shaft rotatably mounted in said fixedframe. extending through said chamber and having one end engaged in saiddoor when closed;

(1. a centre mounted in said door, in and out of engagement with saidend of said shaft, when the door is in closed, respectively openposition;

the mutual positions of the door and the shaft being such that a bobbincan be introduced in or withdrawn from said chamber with itscylindricalhollow core in alignment with said shaft.

In such a way. when the door is open, a new bobbin can be introducedinto the chamber by passing it over the shaft in horizontal direction.which is more easy to do than when in vertical direction, and then, witha simple closing movement of the door, both the chamber is closed forsafety reasons and the free end of the shaft is caught by the centrewhich is mounted in the door. In such a way, the apparatus is ready foroperation where the shaft is supported in two points on either side ofthe bobbin; This allows the shaft to support high unbalance forces. Adoor" can better support such forces than an arm which is pivotallyconnected to the frame and which would catch the free shaft end. An armhas indeed one large length dimension with respect to two comparativelysmall thickness dimensions (e.g. five times smaller) and its pivot lineruns over a thickness dimension and is short. A door however has twolarge planar dimensions of about the same order of magnitude and onesmall thickness dimension (e.g. five times smaller) and its pivot lineruns over the planar dimension and is long and so can better support theforces acting on the centre and parallel with the pivot. At the sametime the door can be given the additional function of covering thepassage through which the bobbin was introduced into the chamber.

The centre is preferably mounted in a bearing and is rotatable with theshaft although it will be appreciated that the centre could be dead (i.enon-rotatable),and the one end of the shaft provided with a bearingrace.

The centre should preferably be movable axially .of the shaft tofacilitate urging the one end of the shaft into the centre and to allowadjustment to compensate for thermal and physical movement of the shaft.This may conveniently be effected by hydraulic fluid.

It is not necessary that the fixed frame completely surrounds thechamber where the bobbin is lodged during operation. Some parts of thechamber walls can be left open in order to allow the bobbin to bewatched or to allow rapid access to less dangerous parts of the chamber.

Preferably the door comprises one or more bolts provided with electricalcontacts which interrupt the motor supply when the door is notcompletely bolted. The pivot line of the door is preferably a verticalline in order to allow its center of gravity to keep the same level whenthe door is opened or closed, thereby making this movement more easy.When closed, the door must however be in a substantially verticalposition, in order to be able to catch the end of the horizontal shaft.

The bobbin may comprise a cylindrical core provided at either end with aradial flange. or just a cylindrical core. When fully wound. thediameterof the winding will be at least l ems with diameters in the range of emsto 63 cms more usual.

The bobbins are generally made of medium quality steel and during theirworking life may be transported over long distances and used on manydifferent types of wire treating machinery. In time, the entrance to theends of the cylindrical core become damaged. It is. however, unusual forthe core itself to become damaged between itsends and in order to ensurethat each bobbin is centred on the shaft during a winding operation, theshaft is preferably provided with axially extending keys which aremovable radially of the shaft to engage the inside of the cylindricalcore of a bobbin over substantially its entire length.

In order tofacilitate the introduction and removal of the bobbins, theapparatus will preferably comprise a hoist, horizontally movable alongthe direction of the shaft in and out of said chamber through thepassage left by the-door in open position, and adapted to lift a bobbininto and out of alignment with said shaft.

Preferred embodiments of apparatus in accordance with the presentinvention are currently capable of winding wire at speeds in excess of40 m/sec.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS One embodiment of a winding apparatusin accordance with the invention will now be described. by way ofexample, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. I is a side view, partly in section, of the apparatus abouttocommence a winding operation;

' FIG. 2 is a side'view, partly in section, of a bobbin about to bemounted in the apparatus;

' shown comprises a main frame I. A roller bearing 2 is firmlyfixed tothe main frame 1 and carries a rotatable shaft '3. A bobbin 4 is securedto the rotatable shaft 3 by means of keys 5 which extend axially of theshaft 3 and which are urged radially outwards from the shaft 3 againstsubstantially the entire axial-length of the core of the bobbin 4 byhydraulic fluid.

A centre 6 is mounted in a cylinder 9 forming part of the frame 8 whichis pivoted to the main frame I at hinges 21. The centre 6 can be movedinto and out of engagement with the end7 of shaft 3 by swinging theframe 8 about hinges 21 and moving centre 6 with repect to cylinder 9.

When the centre 6 is moved to the position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 andkeys 5 are retracted, bobbin 4 can be mounted on or removed from theshaft 3 over the end Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the centre 6 is mountedin a roller bearing and rotates with the shaft 3 when in engagementtherewith. The centre 6 is movable in cylinder 9 by pumping hydraulicfluid into chamber 10.

Movement of the centre relative to the cylinder 9 could also be achievedby means of a piston and cylinder assembly acting therebetween, or byoperating a hand wheel and plunger assembly or by the use of a wormdrive.

It will be seen thatthe end 7 of shaft 3 is in the form of a truncatedcone and that the centre 6 has tapered sides to guide the cone .as itenters the centre 6.

The apparatus also includes a hoist which comprises a platform 12 and anelectric motor 14 which is secured to a frame 13. The platform 12includes a frame 22 having vertical members 23 and 24 and a horizontalmember 25. Rollers 26 and 27 are mounted to member 25 and rollers 28 and29 to members 23 and 24, respectively. Frame I3 includes a firstvertical channel 30 in which rollers 26 and 28 and member 23 arepositioned, and a second channel 31 in which rollers 27 and 29 andmember 24 are positioned. The whole hoist can be moved towards or awayfrom the roller bearing 2 by moving the pinion 18 of a double rack andpinion assembly, having racks l9 and 20, with hydraulic piston andcylinder 17.

When it is desired to wind wire onto bobbin 4, the bobbin is firstrolled on to the platform 12 of the hoist. Electric motor 14 is thenenergized and pulley 15 rotates winding cable 16 thereon which in turnraises platform 12 by virtue of its connection thereto through member32. As platform 12 is raised, rollers 26, 27, 28, and 29 and members 23and 24 are guided by channels 30 and 31. The bobbin 4 until its axis isjust below (e.g. 1 to 2 cm) the axis of the shaft. Piston and cylinderassembly 17 is then actuated to move pinion 18 towards the right asviewed in FIG. 2 thereby moving the bobbin 4 onto'the shaft 3.

Once bobbin 4 is in position and connected to the wire to be wound,frame 8 is moved into the position shown in FIG. 1. Frame 8 is thenlocked in position by a bolt (not shown). As the bolt is moved to itslocking position it operates a mechanism which causes hydraulic fluid topressurize chamber 10 thereby urging centre 6 into fast engagement, withthe end 7 of shaft 3. Hydraulic fluid is supplied to keys 5 to expandthem against the core of the bobbin 4. In so doing keys 5 lift thebobbin 4 clear of the platform 12 and bring its axis into alignment withthe axis of the shaft 3. At this time the weight of the bobbin 4isdivided between the bearing 2 and the centre 6. Motor 11 is thenactivated and the drum rotated until the bobbin is full.

On completion of the winding operation. hydraulic fluid is drained fromchamber 10 and also from the keys 5, so that the bobbin settles onplatform 12 under its own weight. The hydraulic pressure in space 10 isreduced and when this is complete a latch is released which enablesthebolt holding frame 8 to frame 1 to be withdrawn. Frame 8 is then movedto the position shown in FIG. 2 and piston and cylinder assembly 17 isactuated to move pinion 18 from right to left thereby moving the hoistto the position shown in FIG. 2. The hoist is then lowered and thebobbin removed. The cycle is then repeated with another bobbin.

Stops may be incorporated in the hoist mechanism so that the platformwill stop automatically as it reaches a preselected height. When severaldifferent sizes of bobbins will be used on the same machine, the hoistcan advantageously be provided with a corresponding number of stops.

Although the platform 12 will support the bobbin whenever keys 5 aredepressurized and centre 6 is moved out of engagement with shaft 3, theshaft 3 should preferably be designed to support the weight of a loadedbobbin without excessive bending.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for winding wire onto a bobbin having a cylindrical hollowcore. which apparatus comprises:

a. a fixed frame defining a chamber for the bobbin, said chamber beingfor its greatest part surrounded by said frame:

b. a door, pivotally mounted in said fixed frame, adapted to givepassage to the bobbin into said chamber when open, and to be closed in avertical position;

c. a substantially horizontal shaft rotatably mounted in said fixedframe extending through said chamber and having one end engaged in saiddoor when closed; and

d. a centre mounted in said door. said centre being in and out ofengagement with said end of said shaft when said door is in a closed andopen position, respectively; the mutual positions of the door and theshaft being such that a bobbin can be introduced in or withdrawn fromsaid chamber with its cylindrical hollow core in alignment with saidshaft.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 and wherein said centre is mounted ina bearing and is rotatable with said shaft.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 and wherein said apparatus includes ahoist, horizontally movable along the direction of said shaft in and outof said chamber through the passage left by said door in open position,and adapted to lift a bobbin into and out of alignment with said shaft.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 and wherein said shaft is providedwith axially extending keys which are movable radially of the shaft toengage the inside of the core of the bobbin over substantially itsentire length.

5. The apparatus of claim I and wherein said apparatus includes a hoisthorizontally movable along the direction of said shaft in and out ofsaid chamber through the passage left by the door in. open position andadapted to lift a bobbin into and out of alignment with said shaft.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 and wherein said shaft is providedwith axially extending keys which are movable radially of the shaft toengage the inside of the core of the bobbin over substantially itsentire length.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 and wherein said shaft is providedwith axially extending keys which are movable radially of the shaft toengage the inside of the core of the bobbin over substantially itsentire length.

8. Apparatus for winding wire onto a bobbin having a cylindrical hollowcore. said apparatus comprising:

a. a fixed frame defining a chamber for the bobbin;

b. a door pivotally mounted in said fixed frame and adapted to givepassage to the bobbin into and ou of said chamber when open;

c. said door being pivotable about a vertical axis;

d. a substantially horizontal shaft rotatably mounted in said fixedframe and extending through said chamber;

e. a centre mounted in said door, said centre being in engagement withsaid end of said shaft when said door is closed and out of engagementwith said end of said shaft when said door is open;

f. said shaft being positioned relative to said door such that thebobbin can be introduced into and withdrawn from said chamber with itscylindrical hollow core in alignment with said shaft.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 and including hoist means for liftingthe bobbin into and out of alignment with said shaft, said hoist meansbeing horizontally movable along the direction of said shaft in and outof said chamber through the passage left by the door in open position.

1. Apparatus for winding wire onto a bobbin having a cylindrical hollowcore, which apparatus comprises: a. a fixed frame defining a chamber forthe bobbin, said chamber being for its greatest part surrounded by saidframe; b. a door, pivotally mounted in said fixed frame, adapted to givepassage to the bobbin into said chamber when open, and to be closed in avertical position; c. a substantially horizontal shaft rotatably mountedin said fixed frame extending through said chamber and having one endengaged in said door when closed; and d. a centre mounted in said door,said centre being in and out of engagement with said end of said shaftwhen said door is in a closed and open position, respectively; themutual positions of the door and the shaft being such that a bobbin canbe introduced in or withdrawn from said chamber with its cylindricalhollow core in alignment with said shaft.
 2. Apparatus as claimed inclaim 1 and wherein said centre is mounted in a bearing and is rotatablewith said shaft.
 3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 and wherein saidapparatus includes a hoist, horizontally movable along the direction ofsaid shaft in and out of said chamber through the passage left by saiddoor in open position, and adapted to lift a bobbin into and out ofalignment with said shaft.
 4. Apparatus as clAimed in claim 3 andwherein said shaft is provided with axially extending keys which aremovable radially of the shaft to engage the inside of the core of thebobbin over substantially its entire length.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1and wherein said apparatus includes a hoist horizontally movable alongthe direction of said shaft in and out of said chamber through thepassage left by the door in open position and adapted to lift a bobbininto and out of alignment with said shaft.
 6. Apparatus as claimed inclaim 5 and wherein said shaft is provided with axially extending keyswhich are movable radially of the shaft to engage the inside of the coreof the bobbin over substantially its entire length.
 7. Apparatus asclaimed in claim 1 and wherein said shaft is provided with axiallyextending keys which are movable radially of the shaft to engage theinside of the core of the bobbin over substantially its entire length.8. Apparatus for winding wire onto a bobbin having a cylindrical hollowcore, said apparatus comprising: a. a fixed frame defining a chamber forthe bobbin; b. a door pivotally mounted in said fixed frame and adaptedto give passage to the bobbin into and out of said chamber when open; c.said door being pivotable about a vertical axis; d. a substantiallyhorizontal shaft rotatably mounted in said fixed frame and extendingthrough said chamber; e. a centre mounted in said door, said centrebeing in engagement with said end of said shaft when said door is closedand out of engagement with said end of said shaft when said door isopen; f. said shaft being positioned relative to said door such that thebobbin can be introduced into and withdrawn from said chamber with itscylindrical hollow core in alignment with said shaft.
 9. Apparatus asclaimed in claim 8 and including hoist means for lifting the bobbin intoand out of alignment with said shaft, said hoist means beinghorizontally movable along the direction of said shaft in and out ofsaid chamber through the passage left by the door in open position.